My Story

My mum, Rosemary, was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in January 2021. It came as a great shock to discover mum had cancer - both to her and the family; she had rarely been ill during her life and had not shown any symptoms of the disease. It was a slight yellowing of her skin, noticed by my brother on Boxing Day in 2020 (during lockdown), that was the trigger to see the doctor.

From then she received two courses of regulation chemotherapy, before taking part in a SABR radiation trial, followed by further chemotherapy. Sadly, despite many months of treatment, the cancer took its toll and she passed away on November 5, 2022.

We are very proud of mum, for all that she went through, desperate to beat the disease, and feel devastated she is no longer with us and will not be able to see her grandchildren grow older, as she had always wanted.

Seeing someone, usually so fit and active, (she swam and played tennis every week), to have her life changed so quickly by a disease – one of the silent killers - has given me the passion to raise awareness of pancreatic cancer and to raise money for Pancreatic Cancer UK. 

Professionally I work for University College London (UCL) and it’s one of my jobs to promote our amazing cancer research – work often funded by charities like Pancreatic Cancer UK. It is only through funding research, that scientists can gain new insights into how this disease develops and grows, enabling them to test and develop pioneering new treatments.

It is for all these reasons I am proud to be a member of the Pancreatic Cancer UK London Marathon team. 

Henry